"Why would huntsmen and huntresses need a class such as Legends of Remnant?" Professor Ozpin asked. After throwing out the question to the assembled students with a sweeping gesture of his hand, he returned it to rest atop the grip of his cane. The man idly rotated the weapon's tip against the soil of the forest floor as he waited for any of his students to answer, and instead received total silence as several students made subtle efforts to look at each other for ideas. Wind whistled gently through the trees behind the professor as he waited, and he cocked his head while allowing himself a small smirk. His eyes lingered for a moment upon Bartholomew and Yatsuhashi, who stood near the front of the assembled students, before he let them wander over the crowd. Eventually, they settled upon Adam's eye, and the bull faunus looked away almost immediately as the headmaster began to speak once again.
"I expected such a reaction," Professor Ozpin admitted as his smirk turned into a grin. "In fact, the powers that be asked me that very same question over the summer, and I had to defend it while interviewing to take the position of headmaster. I'll admit, even though this has always been my passion, crafting a satisfactory answer to a room of investors was rather difficult… and giving one to all of you may be even more challenging. I won't be particularly offended if any of you believe this class to be a waste of time, at the moment. I've been told as much already, by both the board and more than one student, using less direct language. It would be rather convenient if anyone here could try to justify it for me, before I share my thoughts on the subject."
Nervous laughter broke out amongst the class, and suddenly, it seemed that nearly everyone was avoiding Professor Ozpin's eyes. Adam felt an elbow jab lightly into his side, and quickly looked up and to his left to find Taiyang whispering into his ear.
"I think… Raven might have been one of them," the boy let on. "She hates this class."
"I don't find that surprising," Adam mumbled softly. "Fortunately for her, I don't think Professor Ozpin is the type to hold it against her."
"This is awkward," Jay added in a low voice as he eyed the two. "Adam, can't you think of anything to give as an answer? You're good at this sort of thing."
Adam shot Jay a venomous look, before reconsidering the intent behind the Winchester boy's words. Quite suddenly, the faunus raised his hand, and locked his eye on Professor Ozpin's.
"Ah. Adam Taurus," Professor Ozpin said with a knowing smirk. "Quite an interesting coincidence, considering where this conversation is headed next. Please, share your thoughts with the class."
As Adam lowered his hand once again, he abruptly realized three things. First, all eyes in the class were indeed focused upon him, just as he'd told Taiyang that he didn't want them to be at the beginning of the class. Second, he had no premeditated answer, and had let Jay's compliment lure him into a vulnerable position. Finally, he suddenly realized that he found the grass and fallen leaves below infinitely more interesting than the headmaster or his classmates, and he resolved to keep his gaze upon them as he fumbled for a coherent and satisfying answer.
"I think… well… legends have to come from somewhere. They don't simply appear within the public conscience as some sort of mass delusion, all at once. They're written by people, and when people write, it's usually because they have something to say. Something they want others to consider, directly or indirectly, and interpret into their own experiences. People wouldn't tell stories if those stories didn't have a point, and even the ones that only exist for entertainment have the objective of killing time. But… legends? Legends endure across generations for a reason. Legends inspire people to be better, and give them figures to look up to. At least, from the few that I know, that's the sense I get," Adam finished sheepishly.
Once again, the students took a moment to exchange looks, and unlike in the previous instance, frantic whispers, as well. In the sudden outburst of chatter and scattered nods, Adam felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, and he jumped at the sensation before looking over to its source.
"…like I said. You've got a way with words," Jay confirmed. "You just keep surprising me."
Adam made a face as he brushed Jay's hand off of his shoulder and returned his attention to the headmaster, who had begun to clap softly. "Don't touch me."
Jay's face fell as he, too, turned to look at the headmaster, just as the man returned both hands to the hilt of his combat cane.
"An articulate and insightful answer, Mister Taurus, as I've come to expect from you. Legends do indeed exist to inspire, and pass on messages to later generations. Inspiration and aspiration both provide a sense of purpose, and bleed through the cultures of human and faunus alike. A hunter without inspiration, drive, and goals to chase can quickly be driven to taking just about any job, so long as the pay is good… and that is what separates a true huntsman or huntress from a simple mercenary. We have an important job to do, and a role to play in society that is rather unique. Fulfilling that role requires fully understanding the culture and values of the people we're pledged to defend, and how those people can relate to us. Legends of Remnant is really about immersing yourselves in shared experiences and understandings that have survived the test of time, and serve as a bridge between us and the people we're meant to protect. So… allow me to conduct a little test of my own, right now," Professor Ozpin stated, before turning away from the class.
"I will admit, given that it is only the second week of classes… I do not yet know all of your names. That being said… I would bet good lien that I can land upon a few them within ten guesses, even among students I've yet to speak to. In fact, I won't use any names of students that I've called upon, and if I do, they won't be counted. I haven't been wrong thus far today, in any other class. Shall we?" the headmaster inquired, his voice full of playful confidence. The students standing behind him began to murmur once again, and a small group of students withdrew a few bills of lien as they began making bets amongst themselves. Adam scratched at the base of one of his horns, and shook his head in annoyance.
"What's he playing at? That sounds almost impossible," Adam muttered.
"I get the feeling there's more to this," Taiyang offered as he folded his arms. "Professor Ozpin seems like a smart guy, and he wouldn't make a statement like that without a solid plan."
"If I call your name, say 'here'. I'll try to get at least five of you. Autumn," Professor Ozpin tried. All of the students began to look wildly throughout the crowd of nearly thirty students, until a shocked, dark-skinned girl with hazel eyes sheepishly raised her hand.
"Uh… here, Professor…"
Professor Ozpin chuckled to himself, and remained facing away from the class. "Winter? Spring?" he tried, only to receive silence as an answer. "Summer, then."
"Here," two girls replied at once. The pair was standing only a few students apart, and both looked at each other in disbelief as Adam, Taiyang, Bartholomew, Yatsuhashi, and Jay did much the same. Neither girl was Summer Rose.
"Three for four. Not bad thus far, wouldn't you say?" Professor Ozpin remarked. "Let's get a bit more specific. After all, this is the city of Vale. Is there a Greta, or even a Gretel in this class? Count that as two guesses, if you'd like."
"…here," a small, ram-horned girl replied from the back of the crowd. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels, avoiding the eyes of the confused students. "And it's… Greta."
"One more, and I remain undefeated. Perhaps a bit more exotic, for added challenge. Is there a Persephone, here? Or, to branch out, a Cyan?" Professor Ozpin waited, only to be met with silence. "Hm. Auburn? No? Then I suppose that leaves with me one final guess. I would bet that now, you're all paying close attention to my words, and even the doubters suddenly find this rather interesting. I know some did, in earlier periods," the headmaster teased.
Yet again, the students fell silent, and a palpable tension filled the gathering at the edge of the forest. Professor Ozpin slowly turned, his eyes closed, and a forefinger on the frame of his glasses.
"…Vulcan," he said softly, before opening his eyes. A stunned, redheaded boy standing with two of his friends raised his hand, eyes wide as he stared at the professor with his surprise clear upon his face. "And so, I remain undefeated. Can anyone tell me why?"
"…Vulcan was a legendary blacksmith. He appears in several tales and manuscripts from Atlas, and he's thought of as a demigod," Jay offered as he folded his arms across his chest. "His hammer is part of my family's crest. Those other names… I'm guessing they're also from legends? Is that how you knew?"
"Precisely, Mister Winchester," Professor Ozpin praised as he picked his cane up from the grass and approached his students. "As I'm sure you're learning in Professor Scotch's class, the Great War was many things, to many people… but more than anything else, it was a war for freedom. Freedom for the faunus, freedom of expression, and freedom of belief. After the war concluded, a trend began, in which the generations after were often named for legendary figures, artists, colors, and anything else to do with all forms of art and expression. Each of those names is a legend of some sort… and the first four are global legends. Can anyone tell me why?"
Bartholomew raised his hand, and Yatsuhashi nodded in satisfaction as his partner was called to answer. "The legend of the Four Maidens. Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring are among the most popular names for females in all of Remnant, due to the prolific nature of the story. For that same reason, names containing 'Oz', like your own, are also quite common for males, as that is the only portion of the name of the hermit that the maidens visited that was translatable from a long-dead language."
"Precisely," Professor Ozpin replied, as he turned around once again and swept his cane out along the tree line. "And believe it or not… the cottage of 'Oz' has long been rumored to have resided somewhere here, within the Emerald Forest. Now, for today's assignment, I need you to pair off. I may not know all of your names just yet, but I do know that there is an odd number of students within this period. Mister Taurus- would you do me the honor of being my partner?"
Adam blinked in surprise at the direct callout, but walked forward to stand at the headmaster's side without hesitation. "I… yes," the boy replied as he moved a hand down to rest upon the hilt of his borrowed katana.
"Very good," Professor Ozpin confirmed as he turned for a final time to face his students. "I would like for you to spend the remainder of the hour within the Emerald Forest. Stroll wherever you would like, and see if you can't find some inspiration of your own amongst these magic-touched trees. Perhaps you'll find nothing at all. Perhaps, when we do this again, later in the year, you'll find something of immeasurable value. Either way… stay on your guard. There are grimm living here, and this technically breaks nearly every rule that the previous headmaster set for first year students. I'll meet you back here to do a head count at the end of the period. Until then, you're on your own."
With one last sagely nod, Professor Ozpin stepped aside, and students began to walk forward in pairs and groups of four. Adam watched silently as Taiyang and Jay disappeared into the tree line together, with Bartholomew and Yatsuhashi heading off in a different direction entirely. Within a minute, Adam found himself alone with the headmaster, who was looking at him expectantly.
"…go ahead, Mister Taurus. I'll follow your lead," the man encouraged with a small nod. "And I wouldn't mind making small talk as we wander. After all, it looks like there's something on your mind."
Adam began to walk, silently at first, and chose a spot in the trees where no other students had set out. Professor Ozpin followed closely behind, the only sound between the two of them the headmaster's cane shifting through blades of grass and impacting the dirt as he walked. Adam kept his gaze forward as he leapt over a fallen tree, and then waited for his professor to catch up.
"I have a lot on my mind, Professor, and it isn't just the events of this past weekend. To start, what did you mean when you said that it was an 'interesting coincidence' that I would answer your question? You never explained yourself to the class," Adam pointed out as he listened to the older man stepping over the obstacle.
"I neglected to do so because the answer isn't for 'the class,' Mister Taurus. That is an explanation that I wanted to give to you, and you alone. Hence, our current partnership," Professor Ozpin pointed out as he joined the faunus' side. "You do not know of any legendary figures that share your name?"
Adam furrowed his brows as he set out once again, weaving through trees and pushing aside branches at a slow pace. "I… can't think of any, no. All I know is that it's the name my parents chose for me before we were separated, down in the mines. I never thought it had any significance… though, now that you mention it, there were two other boys named 'Adam' down there, that I know of. What does it mean?" he asked, as he finally turned his head to look at the other man.
Professor Ozpin lingered just behind Adam as the pair continued on, keeping a few feet between them. In response to the question, he tilted his head slightly downward to let the younger male see his eyes over the rims of his black, circular lenses.
"…it is thought that Adam was the first faunus- the originator of the entire bloodline that would one day lead to the rest of your people. Born a hybrid of human and man, the original Adam was said to possess a myriad of animal traits. Supposedly, Adam was created by The Brothers- the gods of light and darkness, after some terrible cataclysm brought about the ruination of humanity entirely- the same mysterious extinction-level event that we discussed last week," Professor Ozpin explained.
Adam stopped abruptly, his free hand braced upon a nearby tree as he repeated the information within his mind.
"…wait. If Adam was the only faunus, and humanity was destroyed entirely… how did his bloodline carry forward? Did the gods create a partner for him? And why aren't we all faunus, if Adam is the originator of all humanoid life on Remnant?" Adam questioned, his expression one of clear confusion.
"That, I do not know," Professor Ozpin admitted. "It seems that no one does… but perhaps, not all of humanity was destroyed, in that terrible erasure of life. Perhaps The Brothers did create a woman for Adam, and offer him a new chance to repopulate our world. Perhaps the answer is something else entirely, but one thing is abundantly clear to me- the name of 'Adam' has persisted across time for a reason."
Adam took another step forward, only to stop immediately as a nearby crunching sound echoed through the trees. He slipped into a ready stance and shifted his katana behind himself at waist level as he listened, shoulders tense and breath hitched.
"Calm yourself," Professor Ozpin ordered as he rested a hand atop Adam's shoulder. "It may very well be a pair of students. Stay ready, but be cautious. Failure to consider the outcome of your actions could lead to something catastrophic."
"Right. Sorry," Adam offered as he relaxed his stance ever so slightly. "What reason do you think my parents had for naming me, then? Trying to make enough children to populate a planet may be on the minds of several students here, but it isn't exactly my priority."
Professor Ozpin laughed quietly to himself and shook his head while slipping his hand off of Adam's shoulder. "Well played… but no. I think you know exactly what I'm getting at, all joking aside. Adam is an incredibly popular name for male faunus."
"Because their parents want their child to be the one who brings about change and new ideas," Adam finished as the bushes before him parted.
A man-sized, muscular beast covered in shaggy, matted black fur emerged from behind the plants while emitting a low growl. Its head was the skull of a wolf with glowing, sunken yellow eyes and equally effulgent red trails seemingly painted into the dirty, off-white bone. A long line of drool slipped from its lower jaw and begin to dip toward the ground, before breaking off as the creature whipped its head to one side and let out a harsh snarl of warning. The beast raised its hands toward Adam, showing off curved ebony claws nearly half a foot in length.
"…a beowulf," Adam said softly as he took a step backward, his shoulder muscles knotting themselves once again. "I've never fought a grimm before, Professor."
"Perhaps not, but I personally believe Professor Calavera to be much more intimidating than that thing," the headmaster joked as he, too, took a step backward. The man swept his hand out to offer the grimm to Adam, and gave an encouraging nod. "They tend to swing wide and circle clockwise, when not under the direction of an alpha. Be prepared for it to alternate limbs with each swipe, and watch for potential bites."
Adam nodded silently, before rushing forward and drawing his sword into a diagonal slash. The beowulf leapt backward and out of the way before bounding to its left and charging back in. Adam sheathed his blade and drew it once again, exposing two feet of the steel to block and deflect the oncoming claw swipe. Following Professor Ozpin's advice, he tilted the blade to the other side before repeating the process to fend off the grimm's opposite arm. Upon having its attack rebuffed, the beast stepped back with an enraged, guttural noise while Adam sheathed his lightly glowing sword and prepared for the next assault.
"Well done, Mister Taurus. Maintain even breathing, a-"
"Easy for you to say!" Adam interrupted as he kept a death grip on the hilt of his sword. He took a false step forward to try to intimidate his target, only for the beowulf to charge in with an overhead swipe of both claws. Adam was too slow to catch the blow cleanly, and the beast's left claw raked down his shoulder, causing an intense flash of red aura along the entire limb.
"Calm yourself," Professor Ozpin warned as he took up his cane and began to circle the entangled pair. "Losing your cool will only make you more vul-"
"Little busy!" Adam cut in once again as he threw a kick into the grimm's stomach. The large wolf yelped and withdrew its claw from its position locked atop Adam's blade as it stumbled backward. "I can't listen to you and fight at the same time!"
"Then how will you listen to your team, when they need you in more complex engagements?" Professor Ozpin chided as he raised his cane in a ready stance. "Finish it off. Do not let it regain the initiative."
Adam growled along with his opponent as he tried desperately to calm himself. He charged forward for a final time at the headmaster's orders, and watched the beast's limbs for any sign of attack. A moment before the pair clashed again, the beowulf opened its mouth and lunged forward with a bite aimed for Adam's throat. The faunus boy drew his katana as the world around him seemed to slow to a crawl, and all color drained from his surroundings.
In a crimson flash, Adam's blade flew forward and sliced cleanly between the grimm's open jaws. A blade of crackling aura flew forth from the blade of the katana and out the back of the beowulf's mouth, severing the top of its skull from its lower jaw. The beast's body immediately began to disintegrate into fluttering soot as the lights within its eyes were snuffed out, and its mandible crashed softly into the grass below. The upper half of the beast's skull spun several times in the air before joining the portion upon the ground, and then the surrounding forest fell totally silent bar the noise of Adam's tense, ragged breathing. The faunus stood with his blade outstretched to one side, his chest heaving and the tip of his katana jittering unsteadily as his hand shook from sheer adrenaline.
"…a clean killing blow, and not bad at all, for your first solo encounter," Professor Ozpin praised as he slipped his cane up beneath his armpit and offered a few small claps. "However, you need to focus o-"
"I'm sorry," Adam said quickly. "When I fight, I just get overwhelmed, and I start to feel…" the boy trailed off as he once again felt a hand upon his shoulder.
"And that's your entire problem," Professor Ozpin replied softly. "Emotions have no place in combat, especially against the creatures of grimm. Harboring anger, nervousness, and tension like that will only draw more enemies, and empower the ones you're already fighting. You need to be an unfeeling, efficient machine when dispatching your targets, lest your emotions overcome your instincts and training. You'll get there, in time."
Adam made a noise of discomfort as he slipped his katana back into its sheath. "And what if I don't? How would I even go about practicing something like that?"
"It's simple, actually," Professor Ozpin said. "Start by building trust in your team, and believing that they'll have your back in combat. Eventually, you'll learn to place that trust in yourself, as well. Now, collect the upper half of that skull. You wouldn't want to leave behind a trophy of your first victory, would you?"
Adam walked to the fallen bones and bent lower, before scooping up the lifeless skull and examining it carefully. Where glowing red trails once pulsed upon the otherwise dull surface, only deep scour marks remained. The eyes of the beast were entirely hollow, as was the cavity within the structure. Some inexplicable urge made Adam want to try wearing the trophy as a mask, but he refrained, and instead threaded his belt through the eyeholes to affix the skull to the side of his waist.
"A rather big step on your road to becoming a huntsman, and a great personal victory. I'm sure your team will be happy to… see…" the headmaster trailed off, before narrowing his eyes. Without warning, he shoved Adam's chest with more force than the faunus thought his professor capable of generating, and Adam tumbled onto his rear.
"Professor!?" Adam cried, only to scuttle backward through the grass while covering his ears as a shrill, hissing noise unlike any he had ever heard resounded through the trees. He instinctively closed his eye and shrunk back, only for his mouth to fall open as he looked to Professor Ozpin once again. The man stood with his cane wedged vertically inside of the gaping maw of a large, jet-black snake, its glowing red eyes and scarlet markings upon its face denoting it as some sort of colossal grimm. Professor Ozpin's grip upon the center of his cane remained unwavering as he used it to hold the beast's mouth wide open, and its fangs were nearly touching the man's arm.
"Adam? Stay back," the professor commanded in an authoritarian voice very much unlike the calm, perpetually amused tone that Adam was used to.
Adam nodded several times in rapid succession before getting to his feet and scrambling backward to hide behind a nearby tree. He watched in awe as Professor Ozpin put up his left hand, and a wispy, ethereal clock materialized in midair. The hands of the device spun rapidly before slowing to a crawl, and the headmaster quickly withdrew his cane from the grimm's mouth. Almost immediately, its jaws began to close at an unnaturally slow speed, as though they were biting through a thick, unseen barrier within the air. Without wasting any time, Professor Ozpin leapt high and crashed a harsh, punishing blow across the grimm snake's snout as the creature seemed to emerge from the pocket of slowed time, and the ghostly clock vanished.
A nervous chill rippled through Adam's chest as he watched his professor land while the snake reeled back in pain and flickered its tongue. "How… Professor, what…"
"Time dilation. My semblance. An incredibly rare gift, and one that Atlesian scientists have spent decades trying to replicate with dust, to no avail," the man said coolly as he pointed his cane up at the serpent in warning. "Remain where you are, and I'll make short work of this beast."
Adam said nothing more as he instinctively put a hand on the grip of his sword. He watched as another white snake's head emerged from the underbrush and raised itself to three times Professor Ozpin's height while using its tongue to taste the air around it.
"Two giant grimm?" Adam asked, his voice shaky. "Professor, do you need me?"
"One giant grimm," the man corrected as he redirected his cane to the newer threat. "And no, Adam. This is a king taijitu, a two-headed snake, and one of the more… disagreeable denizens of the Emerald Forest. I would imagine that you drew it here with your panicked feelings, against that beowulf. Let this be a lesson in how failing to maintain your composure will only compound problems, in the future."
"Yes, sir," Adam replied with a twinge of regret in his tone. The statement was drowned out by another deafening hiss, before the white head of the king taijitu lunged downward and seemed to swallow the headmaster whole. "Professor!"
Adam watched in horror as the white portion of the snake remained impacted with the ground, its jaws wide open as its snout was pressed up against the forest floor. Suddenly, the sound of a harsh impact against the top of its skull rang out, and the faunus noticed that the black head wasn't moving, either. More and more impacts resounded off the surrounding trees as the flesh within the beast's white head rattled and shook with unseen impacts all around its skull, before they began to travel and bulge up the grimm's throat. Quite suddenly, the white snake's head burst in a shower of ashes and bone fragments, while the black head twisted and screamed in agony. Professor Ozpin stood resolute where the shattered half of the snake had once been pressed up against the ground, and dispelled the swirling clock glyph rotating within his left hand.
"Not to worry. I'll only be another moment," the man said with a smirk.
The king taijitu provided Professor Ozpin no such time, and lunged in with a series of snapping bites as its destroyed other half writhed in pain. A spray of ashen mist obscured Adam's view of the area, but he watched carefully as the headmaster manifested another clock, though the device appeared around the man's waist in a ring instead of in his hand. As the grimm snake made several efforts to swallow Professor Ozpin whole, the headmaster seemed almost to blink in and out of existence as he weaved between the trees. After an intense series of dodges and countering swipes, Professor Ozpin reappeared just before the snake's head, and thrust his cane once into the flesh between its eyes. Suddenly, the cane became a storm of black, untraceable blows, rattling like a jackhammer against the grimm's exposed flesh and jostling the grimm back and forth as it tried to get away from the impossibly quick rain of strikes. Finally, Professor Ozpin lunged forward with one last powerful strike that shattered the grimm's skull, and the entire snake went up in a cloud of swirling black mist.
Adam swallowed hard as he watched the blackened flakes fall through the canopy of leaves and cling to the nearby trees like tiny peppered moths. He walked slowly to Professor Ozpin's side, where the man was adjusting his glasses and dusting flecks of ash from his fuzzy green coat.
"Professor, that was… you were incredible," Adam remarked, his voice full of awe.
"I was calm," Professor Ozpin pointed out. "Continue your training with Professor Calavera and try to attend your classes more regularly, and you just might be as efficient, by graduation."
Adam couldn't help but feel a little guilty at the headmaster's words, and he followed along as the older man began to lead a path back through the forest after checking his watch.
"I can only hope so. Will we be partnered again, the next time we come down to the Emerald Forest?" Adam asked hopefully.
"Every so often. I think that it would be beneficial for you to explore with other students, as well, but I'm not opposed to having these talks, here and there," Professor Ozpin clarified.
"Thanks," Adam replied, before clearing his throat. "I only have one other question, really- are you… upset with me, for losing my composure?"
At that, Professor Ozpin stopped, and turned to face Adam with a weary sigh. The man shook his head and offered a kind, if somewhat forced smile. "No, Adam. Not at all. I simply want to help you improve, and I think you'll find that true of every professor in this institution. You have great potential, and I merely hope that you're taking our lessons to heart. The path of a huntsman is long and arduous, but going it alone can make it utterly impossible. Listen to our advice, and it will serve you well. Can you lead us back to the clearing? Class is almost over."
"I think so, yes," Adam confirmed as he set out once again. "And Professor?"
"Yes?" the headmaster asked as he polished the lenses of his glasses upon his coat while following the teen.
"This lesson was one that I did pay attention to. I think I found a source of inspiration in the forest," Adam said with a confident smirk.
Author's Note:
I was considering taking a break next week, but… meh. Chapter 27 will still come out next Sunday. We're in too deep to put this story on hold, now.
-RD